Endogenous retroviruses: Biology and evolution of the endogenous koala retrovirus

Tarlinton, R.; Meers, J.; Young, P.

Abstract

Although endogenous retroviruses are ubiquitous features of all mammalian genomes, the process of initial germ line invasion and subsequent inactivation from a pathogenic element has not yet been observed in a wild species. Koala retrovirus (KoRV) provides a unique opportunity to study this process of endogenisation in action as it still appears to be spreading through the koala population. Ongoing expression of the endogenous sequence and consequent high levels of viraemia have been linked to neoplasia and immunosuppression in koalas. This apparently recent invader of the koala genome shares a remarkably close sequence relationship with the pathogenic exogenous Gibbon ape leukaemia virus (GALV), and comparative analyses of KoRV and GALVare helping to shed light on how retroviruses in general adapt to a relatively benign or at least less pathogenic existence within a new host genome. (Part of a Multi-author Review) © 2008 Birkhaueser.

Citation

Tarlinton, R., Meers, J., & Young, P. (2008). Endogenous retroviruses: Biology and evolution of the endogenous koala retrovirus. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 65(21), 3413-3421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-008-8499-y

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Online Publication Date: Sep 27, 2008
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2008
• Deposit Date: Feb 28, 2025
• Journal: Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
• Print ISSN: 1420-682X
• Electronic ISSN: 1420-9071
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 21
• Pages: 3413-3421
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-008-8499-y
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3116466
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00018-008-8499-y#